Why Is Shailene Woodley The Only One Arrested At The Dakota Access Pipeline Protest?

Not many people were happy with news of the arrest of the very sweet and much loved Hollywood actress Shailene Woodley. Before you go all judgmental about supporting criminal behavior and the likes, know more about the details of the arrest before reaching any conclusions.

Why the Protest?

We all are well aware of the Dakota Access Pipeline being built to transport crude oil. As soon as the project was approved by the U.S Army Corps, it gave rise to an uproar by people who were against it. The reason behind the protest is the location of the pipeline. Apparently, part of the pipeline will pass underneath a river.

This river is situated near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota and the site is important to many because of the burial grounds and scared sites there. Moreover, in the instance where the pipeline ruptured, the entire river would get polluted. Considering the situation and reason as to why its construction is being opposed, the protest appears rightfully sound.

The Arrest of Shailene Woodley:

Among the many people protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, one of the most noticeable is the well meaning environmental activist and divergent actress, Shailene Woodley. She was protesting peacefully when she was arrested for criminal trespassing. Naturally, we all would have believed it if not for the fact that Woodley was filming the entire thing live on Facebook and was doing nothing other than protesting peacefully and was walking back to her car where the police officers were already waiting there with a truck and guns ready to arrest the actress. Shailene asked what all of us were wondering; why was she the only one targeted when hundreds of other people were also there doing exactly what Woodley was doing: a peaceful protest? While the cops there had no satisfactory answer, Woodley herself came to the conclusion that it must be because she was famous and had 40,000 people watching her live streaming on Facebook.

Later, Morton County jail released s statement that she was not the only one arrested and that 24 other people had also been arrested. However, this still doesn’t answer the question as to why were other hundreds of other peaceful protesters, who were standing there, not arrested. She was charged with criminal trespassing and rioting, something which was not representative of the peaceful protest. The actress was released on Tuesday morning, having spent a night in prison. However, the reason behind her pointless arrest remains unknown.

People have been protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline for quite some time now but no attention is being given to their demands and the work continues at the same pace. Shailene Woodley maintained silence after her release but eventually, posted a poem on her Instagram account which has since received nearly 90,000 likes. One thing is for sure though; the actress is not backing down anytime soon. If anything, she is only resolute and promises to stand with the protesters till the very end.